HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — The trial for Austin Drummond and Andre Brown got underway early Thursday afternoon, with jurors hearing opening statements and the first day of witness testimony in the attempted murder case stemming from a 2023 prison fight at Northwest Correctional Complex.
Pretrial rulings
Before the jury was brought in, Circuit Court Judge Mark Hayes ruled on several motions.
The state had asked to introduce testimony connecting the attack to gang affiliation, arguing that Drummond and Brown were members of a group called the Traveling Vice Lords and that the attack on Timothy Singleton, a member of a rival group, was retaliation after Singleton gave clothing to a rival gang member.
Defense attorneys Drew Farmer and Johnny Warren objected, arguing the state disclosed the evidence only days before trial.
Hayes denied the state’s motion, ruling that any reference to “gang” would be excluded from testimony, though he said the victim could still explain his belief about why he was attacked, so long as the word itself was not used.
“The word gang better not come into his testimony in this trial,” Hayes said.
Farmer also raised concerns about a recorded phone call Singleton was on when the incident began.
Prosecutors told the court they did not intend to play the recording unless the defense disputed that Singleton was on the phone at the time.
Opening statements
District Attorney Danny Goodman read the indictments, which charges both Drummond and Brown with attempted first-degree murder, and Drummond with an additional charge of possession of contraband in a penal facility. Charges are Class A and Class C felonies respectively.
Assistant District Attorney Andrew Hays delivered the state’s opening, describing surveillance video jurors would see showing Drummond and Brown approaching Singleton while he was on the phone, stabbing him, and returning for what Hays called “round two” after guards intervened.
“We believe you’re going to have all the proof and all the evidence you need to deliver two ‘guilty’ verdicts,” Hays told jurors.
Farmer, representing Drummond, urged jurors to pay attention to what the video would not explicitly show.
He also cautioned jurors to keep in mind the type of environment in which the inmates live.
“This is not civil society that you’re dealing with, ladies and gentlemen,” Farmer said. “This is a jungle.”
Warren, representing Brown, told jurors the evidence would show a prison fight, not an attempted murder.
“You’re not going to see anybody trying to slash anybody’s throat, stab anybody in the heart, cut any kind of arteries,” Warren said. “You’re not going to see or hear it, because it’s not going to be there.”
Investigator testimony
TDOC internal affairs investigator Logan Wilson testified that surveillance video was reviewed following the incident and that the department classified the offense as assault, not attempted murder.
Under cross-examination from Farmer, Wilson acknowledged he preserved roughly 10 minutes of a video he estimated took an hour to review in full, and that no photograph of the alleged weapon was taken.
Correctional staff testimony
Correctional officer Melissa Boyd testified she found a fight already underway when she entered the pod and that Drummond and Brown appeared to be attacking Singleton.
She said she used pepper spray multiple times to separate the men, and that Drummond made a joking comment to her afterward about the use of mace.
On cross-examination, Boyd first described the incident as an average fight before later telling prosecutors it was a “major incident.”
Former Northwest Correctional Complex warden Brandon Watwood, who oversaw the facility from June 2023 to April 2025, testified that neither Drummond nor Brown had written consent to possess a weapon.
Unit manager Alexus Moore testified she arrived to find Singleton on the floor in a pool of blood and that Drummond handed her a homemade knife when she demanded it.
She said she saw no injuries on Drummond or Brown, but observed several cuts on Singleton’s head and neck.
Maintenance worker James Sansom, who was working security at the time, testified he saw what looked like a stabbing through a window before entering the unit.
Victim testimony
Singleton, who is still currently incarcerated, testified he was stabbed approximately 17 times and received between 30 and 40 staples and stitches, including a facial injury that went through his jaw. He testified he believed he was going to be killed during the attack.
When asked in court whether he recognized Drummond, Singleton said he could not identify him, telling prosecutors it had “been a while” since the incident.
Singleton denied having any weapon and denied prior conflict with Drummond, testifying that his only connection to the incident was giving clothing to another inmate.
On cross-examination, Farmer and Warren questioned Singleton at length about a glove seen on his hand in the video and an object that appeared to fall from a hand near a table during the altercation, played frame-by-frame for the jury.
Singleton maintained he had nothing in his hands besides a glove and phone, and said any object seen on the video did not come from him.
The trial recessed Thursday evening and is scheduled to resume Friday morning.